


dreamshop

by ah_kill_es



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Flirting, Fluff, Half-Elves, Lowercase, Magic, Not Beta Read, Other, POV Second Person, Shopping, Short & Sweet, but make it magic, half-elf character inspired by asra alnazar from the arcana, like all of it is in lowercase, plot inspired by asmr video
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23516905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ah_kill_es/pseuds/ah_kill_es
Summary: you finally decide to pay a visit to the little dream shop in your street, where you meet a half-elf who takes a quite a liking to you.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	dreamshop

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all it's ya boy aquiles with some ~original content~
> 
> the video that gave me the whole dream shop plot idea is this asmr rp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JNDpljEmgo
> 
> hope y'all enjoy!! <3
> 
> also india if ur reading this. ily bitch.

when you came into the shop, there was no musical chime to announce your entrance. 

this shop was an old business. it’d been here for as long as you could remember, but there never seemed to be someone inside buying. no one was really sure how it stayed afloat, and of course, there was the odd rumor of the owner using the shop as a sort of cover up for some murky, illicit transactions in black magic. no one really believed it, though. it was just the typical stuff people make up when they’re bored, and in your town there is a lot of time to be bored.

so when you came in and no one seemed to be there to welcome you, it didn’t exactly come out as a surprise.

you stepped in, looking around, searching for the counter or for someone to guide you through the numerous and overflowing bookcases that made the tiny shop feel even more claustrophobic. it was then when you heard a faint scratching sort of sound, one that sounded familiar but you couldn’t quite place from where or when. silently, so as to listen purposefully on that little noise, you followed it, your footsteps quiet as a cat’s, through the labyrinth of bookcases filled to the brim with parchment paper, paperbacks with worn out covers and cracked spines, and the odd pile of yellowed papers stapled together.

after a minute or so of wandering about and wondering just how big exactly was this shop, you took a right turn and came face to face with what you’d been searching, two for the price of one: the counter and a person working on it. you could see now that what was creating that odd noise was the person behind the (also piled with books) counter writing with a quill on a bit of discarded parchment paper. a quill! no one used those anymore, or so you’d thought. the only person you ever saw writing with one of them was your own father, back when you were a child, before he stopped working magic. he claimed the quill was a writing tool meant for magic, and not even the advance of human technology, of writing machines and later on computers, would make him change his mind. he still kept his old set, with the ink inside little bottles shorter than your own pinky (that by this time, unless they were protected by some sort of magic, would be as dry as sandpaper), all rolled up in black velvet, ‘‘just in case inspiration hits again’’. it hasn’t hit in over fourteen years.

the person working the counter had finished writing and was not putting the paper away for the ink to dry, when they spotted you unabashedly looking at them. they smiled. in your own defense, you thought, you’d been reminiscing. 

‘‘hi,’’ he said, resting his elbows on the counter. ‘‘i didn’t hear you come in, i’m sorry. how may i help you?’’

‘‘hey,’’ you answered, stepping forward from beside the bookcase. ‘‘it’s ok. i came here for the dreams.’’

‘‘oh yes, of course.’’ the man said, nodding. he tilted his head. ‘‘i don’t think i’ve ever seen you here, is this your first time?’’

‘‘yeah.’’

‘‘thought so.’’ he smiled. he was really attractive, you noted. tan, with striking white hair, short and curly, resembling a little cute cloud. pointy ears, but by the skin tone you’d guess he was a half-elf. piercings littered said ears, dotting them like little shining stars and meteors, delicate chains here and there. pearly white teeth, dark freckles over a roman nose and high cheekbones completed a face that, in your humble opinion, deserved better than being confined in a place where beige and dust were considered the ruling monarchs. 

‘‘what, enjoying the view?’’ he asked, amusement in his dark eyes. he seemed everything but offended by your unintentional staring. you could feel yourself blushing.

‘‘oh, i’m so sorry.’’

he just laughed, carefree and ringing like a church bell.

‘‘it’s ok. it’s not everyday someone comes in the shop, and it’s definitely not everyday a cute newcomer walks in.’’ he winked. ‘‘the name’s once.’’

‘‘once?’’ you repeated, puzzled, already forgetting your embarrassment with his lay back attitude.

‘‘yeah, weird name.’’ he shrugged offhandedly. ‘‘my parents can be considered eccentric by both elves and humans.’’ so you’d been right about his ascension. ‘‘but i guess they were right, ‘cause i feel like meeting you is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.’’

you were, officially, burning up and with nowhere to look at. not that his advances weren’t welcome, they were just. well. advances. that’s more than what you’d ever been told.

‘‘alright now, let’s not get distracted or otherwise the boss might wander in anytime and catch me very obviously not working.’’ once said, raising his hands as if he meant to clear the situation and the atmosphere with the gesture. ‘‘you said you were here for the first time. do you know something about the shop, or would you like for me to give you a li’l explanation?’’

‘‘i’d be thankful if you could explain a bit,’’ you replied, ‘‘i know only the generals about this store and what it sells.’’

‘‘ok, here’s the deal:’’ once clapped emphatically. ‘‘we sell, as you know, dreams. all kinds and varieties! your dream is, never better said, our demand.’’ you laughed. ‘‘before you choose the type of dream we, or in this situation, i, will conduct a very simple and easy test to thus select the dream that matches the best with you and your personality.’’

‘‘a test?’’ you asked.

‘‘you see, dreams are very, very fragile things.’’ he said, his voice almost a whisper. you leaned in to catch what he was saying. ‘‘if you and your dream don’t ‘get along’, your experience could be less than ideal.’’ once explained. he lowered his head a bit, denoting seriousness. ‘‘one time, the other person who works the counter here had this experience with a delightful old little couple, real nice people, who came searching for a memory dream. as the name implies, a memory dream is a dream in which your own memories are used. a person, an event, general things like that. well, they came for a memory dream of their recently deceased daughter. car accident, if i remember correctly. they just wanted something nice, you know? as a sort of final farewell. well, my coworker was new to the business back then, didn’t do the test correctly, and the next day the couple came back during my shift early in the morning, tears all running down their faces, ‘cause their memory dream had showed them the day of their daughter’s wake.’’ once shook his head.

‘‘oh, that’s terrible!’’ 

‘‘it is indeed.’’ once nodded. ‘‘that’s why it’s really important to conduct the test carefully and make sure the person and the dream connect.’’ with that, he got up from the counter and stepped from behind it. he looked at you from over his shoulder. ‘‘over this way, please!’’ you followed him through, although shorter, another maze of bookcases. after a few turns towards the end of the shop, you both arrived before a wooden door. once opened it and gestured you to walk in first. you did, and after entering, he turned on a few oil lamps on the walls and closed the door.

‘‘please, sit down.’’ he gestured towards one of the chairs while he sat on the other, next to which was a table with some paper and, yet again, a quill and some ink. ‘‘i’m just gonna ask you some questions, if that’s ok?’’

‘‘yes, of course.’’

‘‘all right then, i’m gonna get the personal information out of the way first. name?’’ you told him your full name. ‘‘address?’’ he was surprised to find out you lived in the same street the shop was on. ‘‘weird we’d never met before! well, i guess fate has a way with things.’’ he added, winking at you. ‘‘what would be the best way to reach you? letter, e-mail, cell phone?’’ when you asked why would the shop need to reach you, he just nonchalantly answered that that question was purely form his personal curiosity. you looked at your feet and gave him your phone number. you noted that he scrawled it on a different page than the other answers had been.

‘‘alright then, going back to the test…’’ he changed to another parchment paper page. ‘‘how many hours of sleep do you usually get?’’ after some more questions ranging from your normal before bed routine to your usual type of dreams, passing though how many hours of sleep you usually get and whether or not you experience insomnia, and many more, once claimed the test was over and done with, and you were ready to choose your type of dream, and did you know all the types there were, or would you like to be shown the ones people buy the most?

‘‘i’d like to know the best selling ones. i don’t really have a specific type in mind.’’

‘‘understood. please, come this way.’’ he said, gesturing towards the door they’d came in through. 

after some more maze touring, they were both back to the counter. once slipped behind it once more and started rummaging through the shelves over it. a minute later, there were a few different pouches in front of you, all made of different colored cloth and small enough to fit in your hand.

‘‘these are just some samples we keep at hand. the real thing’s bigger. now then;’’ once pointed to the first one, a black pouch. ‘‘this isn’t exactly a dream.’’ he said, half shrugging. ‘‘but it’s one of the things that we sell the most. it’s anti-nightmare. you’re supposed to make tea with these and drink it before bed.’’ once gestured vaguely towards all the tiny cloth bundles. ‘‘but the anti-nightmare one, what you do is keep it under your pillow and you won’t have nightmares for as long as it remains there. pretty handy, huh?’’

he walked you through the rest of the options. blue: the memory dream, previously explained; green: the hope dream, supposed to give a reason to hang on to people who were going through a hard time; red: the wish dream, meant to let you live your wildest desire- in a dream, that is. purple: the controlled dream, where you became aware of being dreaming and acquired the ability to manipulate your own dream.

‘‘that one’s usually bought along with another one.’’ once added. ‘‘you mix the teas and it allows a more personalized experience.’’ 

you hummed. ‘‘i’ve made my choice.’’

‘‘well, that’s fast.’’ he said, eyebrows raised. ‘‘newcomes usually take some time to decide. you sure you got it?’’

‘‘yeah.’’ you nodded. ‘‘i’ll take the wish dream and the controlled dream, please.’’

‘‘gotcha. gimme a second to select the ones that match your test answers and i’ll ring you up.’’

after doing that, he wrapped your purchase up in brown paper and tied it up, handing it to you next to your change.

‘‘it was a pleasure, newcomer.’’ once said, smiling. ‘‘come back soon, and dream a little dream of me.’’

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: the reason i gave once his name was 'cause i dreamt one time that i gave myself the name 'once' and so i when i was choosing a character name i was like. hm. seems fitting given the circumstances
> 
> also the ''dream a little dream of me'' line is from doris day's song by the same title, which i listened to while writing!
> 
> anyways i'm kinda on hiatus but come scream at me at tumblr @kill-your-poets-society or at twitter @ah_kill_es
> 
> thank u for reading!! <3


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